


Mistakes Were Made

by TwilightMaster15



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Doubt, Gen, Major Character Injury, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:00:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22625974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwilightMaster15/pseuds/TwilightMaster15
Summary: Cassandra's blows had been brutal, and Varian had been defenseless against it, so it came to no surprise he was severely injured. Still, Varian tried to hide his pain and suffer in silence.What happens when Rapunzel finds out how badly injured he is at Cassandra's hand?Set right after Cassandra's Revenge.
Comments: 11
Kudos: 348





	Mistakes Were Made

Varian let out a sigh of relief as he returned to Lord Demanitus' lab. He didn't know how, but somehow, despite the immense amount of pain that plagued him, he had managed to survive. Grinning his way past his discomfort, Varian had successfully interacted with his friends as though he was fine. Interestingly enough, it was his ability to ignore distractions more than anything else that helped everything run smoothly. 

He gingerly rubbed at his gut as he made his way down the stairs after thanking his friends once again and bidding them good night. Nausea churned his stomach. While he'd managed to disregard it so far, it only seemed to be increasing in intensity now that his need to appear okay was no longer necessary.

Cassandra's blows had been brutal. Varian wasn't remotely surprised he felt achy and miserable as a result. The way his former friend had proceeded to pummel him with those rocks, knocked him out with a blow to the head, and even drugged him... he hadn't been able to evaluate his injuries yet. He cringed as he continued taking the painstaking steps to his bed, where Ruddiger was waiting eagerly for him.

The place where Cassandra had used her rocks to connect with his abdomen felt like it left a severe bruise. He prodded his stomach lightly, determining he really should have checked the damage earlier as the smallest of touches seemed to aggravate the bruising he was almost positive existed. The long day was catching up to him as his fatigue mounted, and all efforts to ignore the growing discomfort were quickly being overrun by a desperate need for rest and recovery. He found his strength wane upon stumbling on the final step. Landing on his knees and expelling a huff, Varian collapsed. He just needed to rest for a moment.

Ruddiger ran over to Varian and tried to check him over and then perked up when he heard a subtle sound, and he suddenly darted to the stairs.

"Varian?" A familiar voice spoke to him from above. "What are you doing? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Varian replied, waving his hand dismissively. "I'm just exhausted. A long day, you know, what with the whole kidnapping thing earlier."

Varian winced as his side flared up when glancing up at the approaching figure of Rapunzel, who seemed to notice. The Princess frowned, but Varian couldn't quite place what this particular frown meant. It wasn't an expression of disapproval or frustration. Instead, there was a worry present.

"Were you hurt?" Rapunzel asked.

The faintest hint of urgency in Rapunzel's voice piqued Varian's concern further. She actually seemed to be worried about his well being. Varian muted the smile that spread over his face as he attempted to reassure her. He found it difficult to contain his excitement to find that the Princess actually cared, even after what he had done.

"I'm fine," he said, only to catch his breath when the slight flex of his abdominal muscles churned his stomach. "I just—I just strained my ankle a little when Cass took me. That's all."

Rapunzel nodded solemnly as he would have expected. However, much to Varian's surprise again, Rapunzel stooped down and held her hand out, gesturing for Varian to take it in support. The teen carefully took hold of the offered hand, and Rapunzel pulled him upright. Varian smiled tiredly up at her, and she appeared to almost reciprocate with a smile of her own. 

Upon standing, Rapunzel assisted Varian towards his bed when a shooting pain darted through Varian's core intermediate step, causing his gait to stutter heavily. He caught himself on a railing with a stifled whimper, which resulted in Rapunzel inadvertently grimacing. She paused as Varian regained his footing, her hands hovering around the boy, hesitating as she debated whether or not to—or rather, _how_ she should intervene. But as Rapunzel observed Varian more carefully, she noticed the boy's skin had become ashen, as though he could pass out at any moment. Rapunzel stepped forward.

"Varian, you're clearly hurt. Come on, I'll help you."

Varian looked at her in surprised confusion before nodding in agreement. Rapunzel gestured toward herself to which Varian smiled again, albeit weakly at the Princess's display of kindness and leaned against him. She took Varian's right wrist, gently guiding his arm over her own shoulder as she wrapped her left arm around Varian's torso, pulling him close to her side when Varian took in a sharp gasp, completely crumpling. Rapunzel's attention immediately shot to the boy in alarm as she tried to stop his descent by lifting again at his waist only for Varian to make a choking cry when vomit suddenly cascaded all over the ground. Ruddiger frantically scrambled to Varian, trying to do anything he could to help.

"Varian, what—?"

"I m-may have lied." Varian stammered thickly, letting fall what remained from his mouth. "I think—I got badly—injured."

Rapunzel gaped as reality flooded over her. Cassandra had hurt him, had deliberately kidnapped and harmed their friend, she actually...

Varian's head was swimming in black, his vision overcome by a pulsing sensation that took with it any excuse he managed to construct. He slumped in Rapunzel's arms as vertigo brushed into him, tipping him over lightly like a blade of grass in the breeze when Rapunzel's voice came again more desperately. Varian blinked stupidly at her as he was placed down on his back on a dry space of ground. 

Quickly, but carefully, Rapunzel pulled Varian's shirt away to expose his belly. Rapunzel's breath caught in her throat as Varian's abdomen came into view. A vibrant red-purple swelling covered a large portion of the boy's gut, pulling the affected skin tight like an over-inflated balloon. Rapunzel's scream echoed up the stairs, and Eugene ran down and was told to get a physician. Rapunzel wished she had the healing incantation, and then Varian wouldn't be in pain right now.

"H-How bad is it?" Varian asked tentatively as he tried not to shiver. He wasn't entirely sure if Rapunzel was actually as pale as his eyes told him she was.

"It's—"

Rapunzel's response died on her lips when gaze returned to that of Varian's as she noticed a substantial bruise along the boy's temple, which would be usually hidden behind his hair. The bruise on his head, the massive internal bleeding at his stomach, the discoloration on his forearms that had become more apparent as Varian had become paler... All of it suggested Varian had been in a serious altercation. Rapunzel refused to let herself admit Cassandra had done this. Maybe it had been an accident?

Try as he might, Varian couldn't recall a time where he had ever seen Rapunzel's face lined with such worry on his behalf. His vision focused in and out as he stared at her expression, contemplating what to say. Based on Rapunzel's change in demeanor, Varian could confidently assume his situation was much graver than he'd suspected. 

"Varian..."

Tears welled up in Rapunzel's eyes, and her voice faltered, shattering into a billion pieces. Her trembling fingers clumsily brushed Varian's bangs back, running her hand through his hair as she tried to soothe the boy. She unbound her hair and placed it on top of him, trying the healing incantation, hoping her desperation would make it work like when Eugene had died.

 _"Flower, gleam and glow,"_ she wept as she sang,

_"Let your power shine,_

_Make the clock reverse,_

_Bring back what once was mine..."_ no response whatsoever, and Varian wasn't healing.

Varian could now feel Rapunzel's hand on the ground, her thumb and forefinger trembling against the top of his head. His gray vision grew darker as he felt his chest tighten as he started to heave erratically for breath. Rapunzel took his hand and grasped it. He squeezed Rapunzel's hand gently as an additional effort to let her know that he'd be alright only to result in Rapunzel breaking down entirely. She placed her forehead against their clasping hands, drenching his gloves as she sobbed, whispering her regretful apology in broken syllables. Large tears rolled down Varian's own cheeks, and he gasped for breath, but it only made his abdomen hurt all the more, cutting his already short gasp even briefer.

Rapunzel panicked as Varian now choked on air. Her hands flew to the boy's head, trying to guide his chin upward to open his airway more fully. Eugene and Lance darted around them at some point, hastily moving Varian into Lance's arms and rushing to the physician. Rapunzel watched in slow motion as Varian's eyes fell shut, and his body dropped limply. 

Everything melted into a haze as Rapunzel watched everything unfurl with Varian's unconscious form at the center of it all. All Rapunzel could think about was how Cassandra had done this to him. He wasn't dead yet, and Rapunzel hoped still that Varian might survive, but what had been done would never be reversed, regardless of the outcome.

Rapunzel would never forgive herself for not seeing he needed help sooner. And as much as she hated bearing negative feelings towards her misguided best friend, Rapunzel would never forgive Cassandra for this. She just prayed it had been an accident on Cassandra's part because she didn't know what she would do if this had been intentional.


End file.
